Wednesday, 3 May 2017

Most
of the student photography we see produced in their sketchbooks is now
produced on photo-copy paper. So, this makes it one of the most frequently used
materials that they use. With that in mind, it should be identified as one of
the key materials that they use.

As with all
of these materials, the first thing students should do is find the brand name
of the paper they’re printing on and then go onto the manufacturers website by
searching “Product data sheet” followed by the papers brand name…

You should
go onto the website and download the product data PDF file for the paper you
use in your college. Read the document identify the information relating to its
properties and characteristics.

General
observations relating to these papers that you might include… (See over page).

·Extremely
cheap and economic.

·Ideal for
interim images and research images in sketchbooks

·Ideal for
reducing and scaling up using photocopier

·Potential
for mixed media application at basic level – finish is usually matt, so that
the paper takes many mark-making media such as graphite pencils, biro’s even
paint with the potential for buckling if used too wet.

·Two basic
sizes A4 and A3.

·Comes out of
the machine dry and with the image fixed.

·Potential in
art applications such as degrading and damaging, tears easily and works well
with sellotapes for re-fixing and re-configuring.

·Once screwed
up maintains a 3D aspect.

·Glues well.

·Is
semi-transparent so useful for over-laying and tracing.

·Clean and
white

·Good for
digital contact sheets.

·Quick and
easy.

·Software on
most advanced printing systems allows for nesting of images – MS picture viewer
system had excellent nesting configurations for quick handing of images.

Disadvantages

·Buckles and
distorts when used in conjunction with wet mark making media such as water-colour
paints/gouache.

·Not suitable
for final images and portfolio use.

·Images lack
colour vibrancy because of the matt finish.

·Easily
damaged and ripped.

Look at the relevant data sheets
for further details.

To take this a step further you’re
advised to use a number of different mark making media – pens, inks,
high-lighters, different grade graphite pencils, paints – oil, gouache,
acrylic, poster, water-colour; Different pencil types – charcoal, conte’, wax
and other soft types and use them on the paper.

Try smudging, smearing and
wetting to show what effect you achieve with these media on this paper. Discuss
what you have learned about the properties of the paper in conjunction with the
potential of the mark-making tools/media. Is there any potential to use these
media in conjunction with mixed media approaches in photography or combing the
use of images and text? Have a look at this link here too http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/design/graphics/materialsandcomponentsrev1.shtml